Convincing Model
To convince the clients of De Haar Castle, Cuypers created a model.
De Haar Castle in Haarzuilens was rebuilt by Pierre Cuypers and his son Joseph on the foundations of an early medieval castle. The clients, Etienne Baron van Zuylen van Nyevelt van de Haar and his wife Hélène de Rothschild, wanted a comfortable reception and banquet hall, which could be created by covering the inner courtyard.
In a letter from 1893, Pierre suggests to Joseph that they make a model: “If we were to make a model using thin planks, cut to size and painted, of the entire hall, I believe that would be better for giving the baron a clear idea of the whole.”
Packed in crates, the model was shipped by train to the baron in Paris. This succeeded in convincing the clients. The result was a spectacular hall with a high Gothic wall decorated with stone sculptures depicting, among others, the baron’s ancestors.
The model on display at the Cuypershuis shows part of the hall and the roof structure. Not only is the model on view in the permanent exhibition, but the letter in which Pierre writes to Joseph about the model’s transport is also on display.
